Louis Napoleon 3

Louis Napoleon III

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte III was born on April 20, 1808was the son of Louis Bonaparte who was appointed King of Holland by his brother Napoleon I. Napoleon III was a prince and the heir after his eldest brother died in 1832. He was brought up by his mother at the cheteau of Arenenberg in Switzerland and was surrounded by memories of the Empire. Napoleon grew up in childhood socialization and was influenced by many experiences when joining his brother and father when dealing with both domestic and foreign affairs.

Encyclopedia of Modern Europe, Vol. 3, s.v. "Napoleon III"

Napoleon III is considered a hero by some, but a villain by others. Napoleon III was a very smart politician who definitely understood how to be the more popular choice when he was elected as the president of the French Republic. Napoleon definitely made it clear that he wanted absolute person power when he wrote, "I shall never submit to any attempt to influence me... I follow only the promptings of my mind and heart... Nothing, nothing shall trouble the clear vision of my judgement or the strength of my resolution." This, however does not mean that Napoleon was in fact a villain it could just mean that he believed very strongly in his own opinions and was not going to let anybody else influence him. Napoleon waited three years before he asked to revise the constitution so he could stand for reelection, then on December 1, 1851 after the National Assembly rejected it, Napoleon used troops to seize control of the government. In doing this Napoleon restored universal male suffrage and the people reelected him for ten years, by ninety one percent of the people voting yes.

Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization, Massachusetts: Wodsworth 2006, 666 Although the people were in favor of keeping Napoleon for ten more years this was still an act of a villain, since he overthrew his own government by force when they did not agree with him.

The first five years of Napoleon's reign was a great success and definitely an act of a hero. Napoleon focused on domestic affairs in the beginning and used the many resources of the government to stimulate the economy and also also encouraged the growth of industrialism. The many resources available to Napoleon were used to build railroads, harbors, roads, and canals. He also expanded the industrial part of France, which is shown with the tripling of iron production during this time. Napoleon also wanted to improve the social welfare of the people, so he provided hospitals and free medicine for workers and also had better housing built for the working class. Napoleon just wanted Paris to be a better city so he tore down the old walls and built all new roads, beautiful squares and plazas, and put in a new underground sewage system and water supply.

Spielvogel, Western Civilization, 667Napoleon did